Lumino cycle to Lumino

(UK) - Essex lighting company mark 30 years in business by embarking on tough charity cycle trek 1,200km away.

Staff from Lumino, based in Harlow, will take on the challenge of cycling to the town of Lumino in Switzerland.

The nine-day trek in September will see the team tackle arduous terrain through France, Belgium and Luxembourg to reach Switzerland. There the cyclists will mount the Swiss Alps, following the Gotthard pass and climbing almost 1,500m.

The final day sees the team descent from a peak of 2,106m through old twisting cobbled roads to end their ride in the town of Lumino.

The event aims to raise funds for a cause close to its heart - sustainable lighting for people in some of the world's poorest regions who don't have access to mains electricity.

The cyclists hope to raise thousands for GravityLight, to support production of the charity's award-winning design. The product lives up to its name - a light that is powered by gravity alone, meaning those without electricity can still light their homes.

Even in 2015, more than 1.5billion people - about 21% of the world's population - have no reliable access to power. These people instead rely on biomass fuels - predominantly kerosene - for light, a severe fire risk and pollutant.

Lumino founder and managing director Andrew Small said: "We are passionate about lighting and we think it's time that people who don't have access to mains electricity had a sustainable source of light in their homes. We take it for granted that we can have light at the flick of a switch but for so many it isn't that easy."

"GravityLight is such an inspiring product and we hope our challenge will raise thousands for this amazing cause as well as marking our 30th anniversary in a fitting way."

"We are very proud to have reached the milestone of three decades in business and be able to give something back to the lighting community."

The trip takes place from 4-12 September 2015 and Lumino are looking for more people to take part or get involved in sponsoring them.